Readers Guide: Modern day Bonnie and Clyde in 'Mad River' at Oak Ridge Library

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Virgil Flowers has his hands full on his latest assignment. Three teenagers have decided to emulate Bonnie and Clyde and are cutting a violent swath of robbery and murder through a remote part of the state. Four people are already dead, and Virgil fears more will die before he can figure out a way to stop the killers in John Sandford's latest “Mad River” (M).

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Virgil Flowers has his hands full on his latest assignment. Three teenagers have decided to emulate Bonnie and Clyde and are cutting a violent swath of robbery and murder through a remote part of the state. Four people are already dead, and Virgil fears more will die before he can figure out a way to stop the killers in John Sandford's latest "Mad River" (M).

In "Those We Love Most," Lee Woodruff tells of a family whose seemingly perfect life is shattered by tragedy. Maura Corrigan was texting as she walked her kids to school the day her oldest son James was hit by a car while riding his bike. As her guilt grows deeper and her husband Pete finds comfort in alcohol, her mother Margaret tries to provide a safe haven for the surviving children while finally coming to terms with her own husband's infidelity. Woodruff's compassionate tale of a family working its way through grief surely mirrors her experiences when her husband Bob was seriously injured during a reporting assignment in the Middle East.

With two parents, one a psychotherapist, riddled with anxiety and a brother who is a hypochondriac, Daniel Smith had the genetic deck stacked against him. Add to that a skewed sense of humor and a talent for writing and you have his funny, eye-opening "memoir of anxiety" he has entitled "Monkey Mind" (616.852).

The 13-day siege at the Alamo in 1836 is certainly the stuff of legend. Historian James Donovan accessed newly released material to re-examine the events surrounding the noble sacrifice of 200 Americans, including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, as they faced Santa Anna's vast Mexican army, and he discovered that the legends and the now classic 1960 movie starring John Wayne are pretty much on the mark. He revisits the stirring episode and its significance in "The Blood of Heroes" (976.400).

In her latest novel, "The Life of Objects," Susanna Moore takes a unique perspective to illustrate the rise of the Third Reich and its takeover of power. At the age of 18, Irish Protestant Beatrice Palmer is so talented a lace-maker that she is taken into the Berlin household of the wealthy Metzenburgs. With their fabulous collections of artwork and artifacts, Felix and Dorothea introduce Beatrice to a world she never knew existed. When their life in Berlin becomes too risky, the Metzenburgs and Beatrice move to their country house along with 23 wagons full of Felix's collectibles. The lovely artifacts, however, soon become commodities used to secure their survival — until even their treasures cannot save them.

After uncomfortably realizing he didn't know much about history, Charlie Schroeder — writer, NPR producer and actor — decided the best way to learn about it was to live it. Over the course of a year, he criss-crossed the U.S. and dropped into 10 different time periods as a historical reenactor. Whether fighting Celts at a Roman stockade in Arizona or rowing a bateau in July down the St. Lawrence in full Revolutionary War regalia, Schroeder stepped back in time to experience history as it is never taught in school. He logs his journey in "Man of War: My Adventures in the World of Historical Reenactment" (355.480).